What's Happening Now: August 2007
8/1/07: Today Janean and Will and family start their
vacation at
Rio Frio, Texas,
home of the second largest live oak in Texas. Rio Frio
is near Garner State Park and Uvalde.   
Judy PS will spend a week in
Massachusetts
Aug. 18 - 27.
She wrote July 29: I'm going to fly into Hartford, CT and
then go to Lenox, MA,  summer home of the Boston
Symphony.  I was there for a week last October and it
was gorgeous then.  I have good friends there.  They
bought a motorhome this week, so they will wait till I get
there and then we will go and try it out for a day or two!  
Sounds like fun to me!  Still raining in Texas -  more than
11 inches this month!  j
8/1/07: Gary writes,

I unconditionally and categorically deny having
ever been incarcerated in the Dallas County Jail.
Furthermore, I never liked cotton candy although
I did occasionally hold Jimmie Nell's for her.

Actually, this photo looks like three miscreants
stealing a cell door from the jail. You remember
how as teenagers we liked souvenirs. You can
tell by the look on Janean's face, they are up to
something.

Walt especially liked things to help him
remember the times he was in all those Texas
jails. So, I suspect he put them up to it.

Of the guesses made regarding the third felon, I
would agree with Linda : Barbara Bone.

Somewhat tolerable,  Gary
8/2: Judy PS is kicking up her heels with family
and friends on this, her Big Birthday.
8/2: News of Jimmie Nell (now called Jimmie)
to Las Vegas (too noisy) and
Ruidoso and Cloudcroft,
New Mexico
(nice and cool up in the mountains). She's done
a little jet-skiing with grandson Jacob. Soon
she'll do her bio and send photos. She looked
absolutely great last December, pretty much
healed after double knee replacements.
"Neanie," "Papa," and their family had a great time in
Rio Frio, and sent photos to prove it.
Even Miss Sadie got into the act.
That rio is muy frio!
August 16 - 19:  Janean and Will are off to
Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

August 7th,
Jeanne
celebrated
her
Big
Birthday,
back home
in the
Good Ole
USA.


Rob and Paul's California Dream Home: Initial
plumbing is almost finished. Front and back deck
framing and railings are in. Beginning to "stage"
lighting, bathroom and kitchen appliances to
garage floor prior to install. We're using a copper
slate tile floor throughout the building. It should
complement the oriental rugs we've collected
over the years. If we are lucky, could be complete
enough to live in by    
October.
8/15/07: The structure now looks like a real house!
8/20/07 - Judy PS: I arrived in Lenox, MA on Saturday
and the temp here this morning was 48 degrees!  I
love it!  Will only be around 68 tomorrow.  Great
weather for a Texan......will be home on Saturday.  
Trying to get tickets to see James Taylor at
Tanglewood on Friday night...had tickets today for
the symphony but we chose to go to the botanical
gardens and craft show since the weather was so
nice.  J  Alas, James Taylor was all sold out...
Fire and Rain

I’ve been walking my mind to an easy time
My back turned towards the sun
Lord knows when the cold wind blows it’ll turn
your head around
Well, there’s hours of time on the telephone line
To talk about things to come
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on
the ground.

oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never
end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a
friend
But I always thought that I'd see you, baby, one
more time again, now

Thought I'd see you one more time again
There's just a few things coming my way this time
around, now
Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you fire and
rain, now
8/22/07 - Just had a nice phone
conversation with Linda W., who
lives in Lewisville. She and Merle
are busy trimming back the greedy
honeysuckle which threatens to
overtake their house. Together,
Linda and I are trying to reach Vida
Mae, who was Linda's good friend
at BHS. We know that she married,
became an RN, had two sons, and
moved to Illinois. Wish us luck!  
                        Jan Bee
                                8/21/07 - Nancy D:
                   I have almost a month off before I start            
                   teaching again so will concentrate on              
                   the remodel we are doing of our house;          
                   we are expanding the kitchen and                    
                   building a new upstairs room where the attic
crawl space used to be. Our house was built in 1904, so
it is interesting to see it taken apart and to have its
inner structure revealed. We are also having the fun of
choosing materials for the new space: flooring,
wallpaper, new kitchen cabinets. The choices are
overwhelming and I find I can only think about them for
a few hours at a time! My daughter Megan, who lives
here in Portland, is a great help as she patiently guides
me through the stores and reminds  me of the colors I
like and of my habits and how they will impact  the
choices about the new space. It's such a fascinating
process to  deconstruct one's reality and create a new
one!
                8/15 from Jeanne:
Our [Ireland] trip was absolutely incredible
and we had a wonderful wonderful time...our
return flight was 5 hours late leaving Chicago
and that does make for a very long 24 hour
day home!!!!!.....we got home about 2:30 in the
morning on Tuesday, my birthday, Kim and Pam
came to Temple to spend the day with me and
that too was awesome.....Wednesday I did try
to play a little catch up and finish un-packing
before leaving with Pam and Brady on Thurs-
day afternoon for the coast ....the only thing
that Brady wanted for his birthday was a trip to
the coast with his Mom and Mimi....we had a
great time and got home on Sunday evening
about 7pm.....AND several friends had a sur-
prise birthday dinner party for me on Wednes-
day evening....a total surprise and was great...
still all the while trying to get somewhat
settled in after the trip!!!!...you might remem-
ber that my granddaughter, Ashley, is being
married on Saturday, September 1......I will be
leaving for Houston on Monday, August 27th
and we will be there until Sunday or Monday....
I am hosting her bridesmaids luncheon on
Friday, August 31 and have been really busy
today getting the invitations ready for mailing
tomorrow........been pretty crazy around here,
but not anymore so for me than anyone
else!!!!!.....how are you and when are you guys
leaving on your trip...September if I remember
correctly!!!!!!..I did hear from several in our
class on my birthday AND that was really
special....thanks to you.....and I got a phone
call from Sue AND that was really really
neat......she only lives about 45 minutes to 1
hour from Kim and if I can possibly work it in
while I am there for the wedding I will call her
to see if we could have lunch......thanks to you
again...

ps letter and pictures regarding our trip to
Ireland coming soon!

























8/27/07 - Cecelia writes:
I'm finally sending a photo of the little quilt I finished
in June for my brother's new granddaughter
Kennedy.  It is the pinwheel pattern, an old design,
put into newer colors to match Kennedy's decor.  

This was the largest quilt I have pieced and quilted
from scratch.  This one I quilted on the sewing
machine.  I have other quilts started, some of them
large, but not finished.  I'm really slow.  People who
used to eat with me in the school cafeteria will
remember how slow I am.

(Jan's note: I asked if the photo was taken in her
home.) Yes, that is my living room.  The painting of a
cutting horse at work in a real pasture, cutting a calf
from the herd, is entitled "Far From the Futurity."  
We bought it from the artist, Laura Butler, then of
Stephenville, years ago and have really enjoyed it.

The quilt design really is an easy one.  I learned how
to speed myself up:  large pieces and large blocks.  
It's just as pretty and goes much faster.  Ha.

August 27:
Happy Birthday to Judy PH!
Judy PS and Nean and Will got home safely
from their journeys, despite the efforts of the
airlines to inconvenience them.